Daming: Brother, there is no future for monks, let's rebel

Chapter 1380 Died Too Cleanly

The atmosphere in the hall finally changed.

The Minister of War frowned slightly.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Where is this batch of materials now?"

"It remains in the western warehouse, sealed and untouched," replied the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief.

"No one took action without authorization?"

"unmanned."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

He did not issue a command as a prince, nor did he reprimand anyone; he simply said, "Then don't rush to define it."

Even as the bell tolled to signal the end of the court session, the Fengtian Hall remained silent.

As soon as the bell rang, the officials withdrew in order, their manners impeccable, and there were hardly any coughs.

The "old materials inventory" incident was like a stone being gently placed into water; before the surface even rippled, it had already sunk to its proper place.

As soon as they stepped out of the palace gate, their breathing relaxed.

The Minister of Works quickened his pace noticeably, barely exchanging pleasantries with anyone. The hem of his official robe was lifted by the wind as he headed straight for the palace gate.

The two accompanying officials jogged to catch up, and one of them couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Sir, about this matter—"

The Minister did not turn around, but coldly said, "We'll talk about it when we get back."

His voice was extremely low, yet it carried an undeniable authority.

On the other side, several officials from the Ministry of War slowed down.

They didn't gather in one place, but rather stood in twos and threes, half a step apart, seemingly going their own way, but none of them actually went far ahead.

Some people glanced back at the direction of Fengtian Hall, while others lowered their heads to adjust their cuffs, as if waiting for the most natural opportunity.

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief walked in the middle of the civil official procession.

He walked slowly, and his expression was no different from usual, as if those few words in the court just now were nothing more than routine business.

Just as I stepped down from the steps, before I had taken more than a few steps, a low voice called out from behind me.

"Your Excellency, the Imperial Censor."

The voice wasn't loud, but it was just enough for him to hear.

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief paused, then turned around.

The person who stopped him was an official from the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs. The two were about the same age and had worked together in the same government office in their early years. They were not close friends, but they were not strangers either.

The man glanced around to make sure no one was getting close before taking a half-step forward.

"Regarding what happened in the hall just now..." he hesitated before speaking, "wasn't the investigation a bit too thorough?"

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief did not answer immediately, but simply smiled.

The smile was faint, as if he had heard something insignificant.

"Is it fine?" he countered.

The official from the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs choked for a moment, then whispered, "Over eighty stones, that's not a large number. If we keep digging, there will be many more people to haul away."

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief nodded, his tone still calm: "Precisely because so many people are involved, we cannot pretend we didn't see it."

The man frowned slightly: "But once this matter unfolds—"

“I know,” the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief interrupted him, “That’s why I didn’t say I wanted to investigate anyone.”

The officials of the Imperial Clan Court were taken aback.

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief raised his hand and pointed to his cuff: "I was just taking the accounts out of the cabinet and putting them out in the sun to air them out."

He paused, his smile fading slightly.

"As for who found it offensive and was eager to put the bill back—"

"That's not my problem."

The officials of the Imperial Clan Court were speechless for a moment.

After a moment, he said in a low voice, "It's good that the Imperial Censor knows what's going on."

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

This brief exchange went unnoticed by others.

But just as the two parted ways, a palace attendant nearby had already quietly recorded the scene.

He didn't stop or look around, but simply kept his head down and walked quickly along the palace path, his footsteps silent, yet his direction clear.

In the afternoon, the air in the inner court seemed to be stirred by something invisible.

The window in the duty room was half-open, and the light slanted onto the desk.

Zhu Han sat behind the table, looking at a copy of an old precedent, the pages turning very softly.

A palace attendant came in to serve tea.

Everything was normal.

As the teacup was placed on the corner of the table, the eunuch paused slightly, then whispered, "Your Highness, the Western Treasury—another seal was added this morning."

His tone was flat, as if he were reporting something trivial.

As soon as he finished speaking, he took half a step back and stood with his hands hanging down.

Zhu Han did not respond immediately.

He picked up the teacup, the steam rising and obscuring half his face. His fingertips gently caressed the rim of the cup, the movement extremely light, yet lingering for too long.

"Did you add a second one?" he asked casually.

"Yes," the eunuch replied quickly. "He said that the wind was strong last night, and the original seal was a little loose, so it was replaced as usual."

"As usual," Zhu Han repeated, his tone devoid of emotion.

The eunuch lowered his head and said no more.

Zhu Han finished his tea, set the teacup down with a crisp tap on the table. He stood up and straightened his cuffs.

"I'm going out for a walk."

"Yes."

The process of changing into casual clothes was unhurried, as if they were genuinely just taking a break.

By the time he came out of the duty room, the sun was already setting, and the shadow cast by the eaves was very long.

The corridor outside the Imperial Clan Court was always quiet.

Zhu Han walked under the corridor, his boots treading on the stone slabs at a steady pace.

When he encountered eunuchs and low-ranking officials along the way, they would consciously step aside, bow, and give way, as if it were all natural and they had long been used to it.

No one stopped him.

No one dared to stop them.

He paused slightly as he reached the end of the side corridor.

There was a person standing in front of me.

The eunuch stood with his head down in the shadow of the pillar, as if he were waiting for the wind, or as if he was waiting for someone.

Upon hearing footsteps, he immediately stepped forward and knelt down to pay his respects.

"Your Highness."

Zhu Han glanced at him, his gaze lingering on him for a moment.

Who are you waiting for here?

The eunuch's voice was very low, but without hesitation: "Wait for Your Highness."

Zhu Han chuckled, as if he had heard something amusing.

"Then you've come to the right place."

He said this in a casual, even gentle tone.

It was as if the person in front of me wasn't standing here with a secret, but rather someone I'd just met by chance.

Zhu Han turned around and walked towards a more secluded section of the corridor.

The eunuch got up and followed, always keeping a distance of three steps, neither too close nor too far, as if he had been taught how to walk beforehand.

Zhu Han stopped walking only when there was no one else around and the only sound was the soft tinkling of the eaves bells in the wind.

"Go ahead."

Two words, spoken very softly.

The eunuch immediately lowered his head and recounted the events surrounding His Majesty Chen Dan in detail.

He explained it in great detail.

The details of how the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief stepped forward, his wording, his pauses, and his lowered voice were all recorded without omission.

When he spoke of that private conversation with the rear guard, he deliberately slowed down his speech.

"...He said, 'I'm just taking the accounts out of the cupboard and putting them out in the sun to air them out.'"

After he finished speaking, the corridor fell silent for a moment.

Zhu Han gave a soft "hmm".

“He’s right,” Zhu Han said.

The eunuch dared not reply, but simply lowered his head, his back taut.

Zhu Han seemed to be thinking about something else, his gaze fixed on the light and shadow outside the corridor.

“If the accounts aren’t aired out,” he said slowly, “they’ll smell really musty.”

He turned his head, his gaze returning to the eunuch.

"Who else have you said that to?"

The eunuch knelt down almost immediately.

"Your Highness, there is no one else but Your Highness."

"Didn't you talk too much on the way?"

"No."

"Didn't you write it down in your heart, intending to use it in the future?"

"The servant dare not."

Zhu Han looked at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Very good." He raised his hand: "Then you can forget about it now."

The eunuch was taken aback, then kowtowed heavily: "Yes."

When he stood up, his expression had returned to its initial blankness, as if that memory had truly been ripped from his mind.

Zhu Han waved for him to leave.

The corridor returned to quiet.

Zhu Han stood there for a while, as if to make sure there was no more noise around him, before turning and leaving.

On his way back, he stopped in front of an inconspicuous little door.

The door was unlocked.

He pushed the door open and entered.

This is an old study in the inner court, unused for many years, the air filled with the smell of paper and dust.

The files on the bookshelf were not arranged neatly, but clearly no one dared to touch them.

Zhu Han walked straight to the innermost side.

He reached out and pulled out a book from a row of old ledgers.

It's not Xiku.

The cover is old and worn, and it is marked "Autumn River Repair - Local Transportation Supplementary Register".

He sat down and opened the ledger.

Page by page, I turned the pages very slowly.

Numbers, seals, and names of those involved lay quietly on the paper.

The eighty-eight stone blocks were broken down into several transport and inspection processes and hidden in different sections. No matter which page you look at, they are inconspicuous.

Until he turned to one of the pages.

Zhu Han stopped moving.

His gaze fell on the seal.

It was printed perfectly straight, with even pressure, without any hesitation or deliberate concealment.

The person who stamped the document clearly knew that this account would be brought to light sooner or later.

Zhu Han closed the ledger and tapped the cover lightly with his knuckles.

"You've got guts," he said in a low voice.

In the evening, a palace attendant came to invite us to dinner.

"Your Highness, shall we serve the meal?"

Zhu Han didn't even look up: "No need tonight."

"Yes."

Before the eunuch withdrew, he couldn't help but glance at him one more time.

At night, the wind outside Xiku was colder than during the day.

The seal gleamed faintly under the light, the newly patched seal pressing down on the old one, the edges trimmed neatly, as if afraid that others wouldn't notice that "this was just patched."

The patrol captains changed shifts.

The new team had just taken their positions, and before their footsteps had even faded, someone coughed softly in the shadows not far from Kumen.

"Thanks for your hard work."

The captain was startled and immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

A figure emerged from the shadows, dressed in unremarkable dark casual clothes, but with a jade token for travel within the inner court hanging at his waist. The token was not engraved with an official title, but only with the character "Han".

The captain immediately saluted: "Your Highness."

Zhu Han raised his hand to indicate that he didn't need to be so polite, but his gaze had already fallen on the seal on the door.

"Is it windy tonight?" he asked.

The captain paused for a moment before answering, "Yes, there were a few flare-ups during the day as well."

"No wonder." Zhu Han nodded. "The seal was replaced quickly."

The captain's back tensed slightly, and he replied cautiously, "It was the Treasury Department who said that, according to precedent—"

“As usual,” Zhu Han interrupted him, his tone gentle. “I know.”

He didn't ask about the seal again, but instead took two steps forward and stood next to the warehouse door, as if casually looking it over.

Has anyone come by in the last few days?

The captain hesitated for a moment: "Your Highness, some people from the Ministry of Works came to see it once during the day. They only saw the seal from a distance and did not come closer."

What about at night?

"No at night."

Zhu Han glanced at him sideways.

That single glance, though not heavy, made the captain instinctively straighten his back.

“Remember this,” Zhu Han said. “If anyone comes at night, whoever it is, note the time.”

"Yes."

Zhu Han nodded, turned and left without lingering for another moment.

But as soon as he left, the captain realized that his palms were sweating.

The next morning, turmoil broke out in the Imperial Clan Court.

It wasn't an open argument, but rather an inexplicable restlessness.

Several officials involved in local warehouse transportation came to the Imperial Clan Court one after another to "pay their respects," "inquire about precedents," and "check old files" under various pretexts. Each pretext was more legitimate than the last, but they all invariably mentioned last year's autumn repairs.

Zhu Han sat in the side hall listening to the reply.

"Your Highness, someone from the Ministry of Revenue has come and says they want to retrieve a copy of an old precedent for comparison."

"Your Highness, the Waterway Administration has sent a document saying that it needs to verify the acceptance process."

"Your Highness, what about the Ministry of War—"

"What happened to the Ministry of War?" Zhu Han looked up.

The person who came to report paused for a moment before saying, "The Ministry of War hasn't sent any official document, but... someone has been privately inquiring about how long the sealing of the Western Warehouse will last."

Zhu Han chuckled.

"They don't even dare to ask openly?" he said. "That means they're really desperate."

He put down his pen, thought for a moment, and said, "Give them a reply."

The messenger immediately responded, "Your Highness has given the order."

“Just say—” Zhu Han said unhurriedly, “Sealing is a routine procedure. When it will be lifted depends on when the accounts are reviewed.”

The man agreed and left.

Before long, Zhu Han was left alone in the old study again.

He reopened the ledger, but instead of turning to the next page, he reread the page he had stopped on earlier.

Then he closed the account and stood up.

"Someone come here."

The eunuch immediately entered.

"Go and invite the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief," Zhu Han said.

The eunuch hesitated, "Your Highness, shall we invite you openly, or—"

“Be open about it,” Zhu Han said. “Just say that I have some old issues that I don’t understand and would like to ask him for guidance.”

These words were spoken very softly, yet they made the eunuch's heart skip a beat.

Asking the censor to "point out the accounts" was never a formal request for advice.

It's a flashing blade.

Shortly afterward, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief entered.

After bowing, he did not exchange pleasantries, clearly having guessed the purpose of his visit.

"Which account does Your Highness wish to see?"

Zhu Han pushed the account book in front of him and pointed to the seal.

“What do you think of this move?” he said.

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief looked down for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"The person who stamped the document was very confident."

"What are you confident about?"

“Anyone who is confident that they have investigated this far will not investigate further.” The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief looked up. “Or rather—they dare not.”

Zhu Han nodded.

"But I happen to be someone who's afraid of nothing."

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief was silent for a moment, then asked seriously, "Where does Your Highness intend to begin?"

Zhu Han did not answer immediately.

He looked out the window, where the shadow cast by the palace wall was slowly moving.

"Start with the people who are least afraid of being investigated," he said.

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief was taken aback: "Who?"

Zhu Han turned around, his tone calm:
"dead."

There was silence in the room.

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief quickly realized what was happening, and his eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Your Highness means... the granary official who died of illness during the transport last autumn?"

“Yes,” Zhu Han said, “He died too cleanly.”